Wilderness Weekly 1.19.19

January 19, 2019
by outBACK Engagment Team

Dingoes: Snowmen were built and capture the flag was played! The group absolutely crushed it hiking week this week as well. Members of the group honored two Dingoes with the Letting Go and Hewing Stone tokens as two first campers joined main camp as spirits were high after the transition of a group merge. One of the Staff in the Dingoes received a trail name and students spent hours mastering the art of busting/fire making. In addition to the various therapeutic assignments and processing groups, the Dingoes practiced the skill of mindfulness through creation through the use of their hands. The students made many items, some of which were beautiful pouches known as Poss Bags.

Gnowees: The Gnowees had one of the most fun weeks yet! We spent time playing in the snow, building snow people as teamwork initiatives, perfecting our snowball skills, and overall, enjoying the snowy weather. The desert is so peaceful and beautiful during this season. The students have also been working hard on their busting sets and skills. It is very exciting to watch them each get coals and showing initiative by requesting to work on busting. Students spent a lot of time delving into personal issues of communication, respect of parents, and any other area that arose. The week provided us with a great amount of time and energy to dedicate to each student and their individual needs. Group culture is flowing really well and the students are taking great pride in their growing skill sets!

Brumbies: The Brumbies were re-born this week as two groups of boys came together to form a new, stronger team of wild horses (brumbies). We welcomed two new students into our community, both of whom made it out of first camp by the end of the week! Due to the group change and new students we only hiked once this week, however, we went on a day hike to explore the top of a ridge, across from our camp, and found a grove of willow trees where we harvested wood to make dream catchers and other creations. Two Brumbies earned tokens (Giver and Brightness) and one Brumbie earned their trail name (Stoic Moonshadow).

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Peak Week – Adventure Therapy @ outBACK

Students this week reaped the benefits of hard work and efficiency. For the first time ever we also had a peak week Dog. He was essential for keeping spirits high. We traveled south, where we explored the canyons of red cliffs, and looked into the deep clear pools of water, along the canyon’s floor. Later, we climbed to Green Valley Gap. We talked about the trust one needs to have in their belayer on a climb, and how that parallels the trust we need to have in our families during difficult times. The feeling of support is key to success.

We then headed across the state to goblin valley to examine sandstone goblins and to explore the goblins lair, a large beautiful cave within the park. We talked about what comes next after outBACK, and how we all still had things to work on. We talked about the desire to be with our families, and the love we had for them. Later, we enjoyed a hot shower and a warm meal before returning to the field. We had an awesome week.